Woodstock's Open Space program may see cuts with proposed state budget

Woodstock First Selectmen Allan Walker was one of 17 towns officials who met with state legislators on March 5. The Northeastern Connecticut Council of Governments had invited the representatives for a wide-ranging discussion about Gov. Dannel Malloy's proposed budget and how it would impact their towns.

The $40 billion biennial budget proposes funding cuts everywhere. And the proposed budget is already $100 million short, something legislators will have to find ways to close. The budget's impact on Public Act 490, which allows farm, forest and open space to be assessed at a use, rather than fair market value, could be drastic.

Voluntown First Selectman Bob Sirpenski said five-year changes to 490 values have shortchanged municipalities. The last time the formulas were changed, his town saw a decrease from $146 per acre to $130 per acre. The state pays the town 70 percent of that figure. "The state dropped the value of the property so they could give us less," he said.

For Woodstock, the budget would also hurt efforts to preserve open space and farm land. That's because the Department of Agriculture's Community Investment Act has been cut. CIA operates on collection of real estate transaction fees collected by town clerk offices. Those fees are used to support historic preservation, farm land and open space preservation, and the construction of affordable housing.

The CIA has funded 1,100 projects in 165 towns by providing financial assistance to municipalities. The state's $3.5 billion agricultural industry has benefited since 2006, when the CIA was instituted. Woodstock has been the recipient of $296,000. "As I understand it, 50 percent of the funding will be gone this year and 100 percent will be gone next year," Walker said.

For farm-friendly Woodstock, that could mean the six farms currently in the pipeline for consideration would have to wait indefinitely. "Our town is very active in preserving farm land and it would hurt our ability to get money from the state to do that," Walker said.

The idea is to preserve the land for a growing industry. Woodstock has one of the biggest dairy farms in the state and 10 operating dairy farms, all told. "Younger people are starting to think about getting into agriculture again, which is great," Walker said.

The Connecticut Farm Bureau planned to hold a legislative breakfast on March 9 in Hartford. That meeting would allow legislators to hear how CIA cuts would impacts municipalities across the state. "It's very important to us," he said.